Sleeveface
Encyclopedia
Record sleeve
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is...
(s), causing an illusion.
Sleeveface has become popular on social networking sites.
The precise origin of the concept is unknown. A collection of photographs was posted online at Waxidermy.com in early 2006, though earlier examples of 'Sleevefacing' include a Mad Magazine cover and a sketch on The Adam and Joe Show
The Adam and Joe Show
The Adam and Joe Show was a British television comedy show, written and presented by Adam and Joe, that is, Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, which ran for four series on Channel 4 between 1996 and 2001...
with Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
holding a record sleeve to his face. One case of a "sleeveface" before the internet phenomenon and website was an album cover by DJ J Rocc, whose own sleeve (front and back) was done in the group sleeveface style.
Another case and possibly the earliest "sleeveface" photo is on the back of the album "Picture This" by Huey Lewis and the News in 1982, where Huey is holding the front side of the album (showing his face) in front of his face. Earlier still, is John Hiatt's 1979 "Slug Face" album where he too is holding a sleeve (showing his face) in front of his face.
The term 'Sleeveface' was coined in April 2007 by Cardiff resident Carl Morris after pictures were taken of him and his friends holding record sleeves to their faces whilst Djing in a Cardiff Bar. His friend John Rostron posted them on the internet and created a group on the nascent Facebook social networking site. From here the craze became more widely known.
John Rostron and Carl Morris are authors of the book 'Sleeveface : Be The Vinyl' published in 2008 by Artisan/Workman which compiles sleevefaces from the worldwide submissions to their website www.sleeveface.com
Sleeveface contributors regularly hold Sleeveface parties across the world.
Sleeveface contributors have helped organise Sleeveface workshops for children. One such workshop took place at the National Museum Cardiff in November 2008 as part of the city's annual Sŵn Festival.
There is also a Sleevefacer iPhone app available that let's you access album artwork from your Music library and sleeveface right on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
External links
- http://www.sleevemyface.com
- http://www.sleevefaced.com
- http://www.sleeveface.com
- galeriephos.com
- Flickr gallery
- Waxidermy gallery
- Carl Morris